General Tactics 2 'The Battle of Arsuf'

[Longmane]

Apologies in advance as this will be a heck of a long description.

pt/1

The Battle of Arsuf, 7 September 1191

The march from Acre to Jaffa, and the battle of Arsuf (22 August–7 September 1191) are outstanding feats of the crusades. They were also the last great triumph of the Christians in the Near East, and deserve special mention because at the time the Christians were fighting Saladin, a most formidable foe. He had united the various Moslem states under his rule into a powerful empire, able to produce greater armies than those which the crusaders had fought against in the First Crusade. In his earlier battles Saladin had annihilated the troops of king Guy of Lusignan near the lake of Tiberias, at Hattîn (4 July 1187) and then captured Jerusalem (2 October 1187).

We have excellent accounts of the battle of Arsuf by witnesses from both sides, giving details of every stage of the march and the battle. The terrain is known, and the site of the battle can be identified unhesitatingly.

The commander of the crusaders, king Richard I of England, was a soldier of very high quality. As far as strategy is concerned, he seems to have been a man of excellent judgement, prudent and wise. He took good care of his troops, did not ask too much of them on the march and kept a close watch on their material needs.

In the sphere of tactics he showed prudence and insight. He reacted quickly to his opponent's tactics by excellent ordering of his troops and the imposition of strict discipline on the march. He was not the man to be surprised by a quick-moving enemy, but always kept a good reserve, as a study of his French campaigns also shows. He waited calmly for the moment to strike from a favorable position, and was never incautious in the use of his troops, even in the moment of success.

But although he won victories as a tactician and strategist, and cared for his men, his personal courage bordered on recklessness. He was, without doubt, one of the bravest men involved in the Third Crusade, and this has made him a legendary figure, not only in the West but also to the enemy in the East. After the Crusade, during his campaigns in France, he repeatedly defeated Philip Augustus.

After the siege of Acre, Richard decided with typical determination to press on to Jerusalem. The most direct route from Acre to Jerusalem lay through the mountains of Ephraim, and was ill-suited to military operations. Another road followed the coast to Jaffa and thence to Jerusalem: this was preferable because the crusaders would have the use of alternative ports, which would greatly facilitate the movement of supplies brought up by merchants. During a march along the coast, the fleet would be able to provision them and cover their flank on the sea side. For the subsequent march to Jerusalem, which meant penetrating deeply into the interior, the Christians would have a suitable base on the coast. The port of Jaffa lay closest to their objective. The road along the coast was very good, probably an old Roman road through Haifa, Athlit, Caesarea and Arsuf.

This plan was doubtless the best, but it involved all sorts of difficulties. In a long flanking march along the coast, the crusaders had to advance through a region offering very little food and still less water in exceedingly hot weather. They were perpetually menaced by Saladin's army, which was naturally hoping to surprise the long column of crusaders. In order to protect themselves from such a threat, a large part of the crusaders' army was bound to leave the road, which made the march even more exhausting. Saladin could attack behind and before as well as on the flank.

[Longmane]

pt/2

The March

On 23 August the army left Acre, but not without difficulty. After the numberless privations they had suffered during the siege, the crusaders had not only taken a well-earned rest, but had led a merry life in the conquered city. Many were extremely unwilling to leave that pleasant place where they had amused themselves so well. But Richard laid down detailed regulations for the long march. The female camp-followers were to stay behind at the port, and an eyewitness states that only a few washerwomen were allowed to go with the army 'to keep the crusaders' linen clean, to wash their hair and de-louse them, at which task they were as skilful as monkeys.' As much baggage as possible, and food for ten days, biscuits, wine, meat, and flour, were loaded on to the transport fleet, and were to follow the army by sea to provision them.

Their marching order was very good. The army moved off in large formations, or divisions subdivided into companies. These formations were well organized. Advance and rear-guards covered the troops, the former led on the first day by the king himself. Another day he commanded the rearguard. Usually the two great military orders of the Holy Land, the Templars and the Hospitallers, carried out this dangerous task. 

The baggage train marched along the coast. The provision waggons were protected by a detachment of foot-soldiers, which was also laden with personal baggage and tents. They were protected on their right flank by the fleet. Alongside this column of baggage and foot-soldiers came the main part of the army, the knights, arranged in their divisions.

These two columns were also protected on the left flank, the more dangerous side, where Saladin might try an attack at any moment. There was a flank guard, a special band of knights who were sometimes supported by the retinue of king Richard or of the duke of Burgundy. In case of an attack in front, behind, or on the flank, the commander always had three formations, closely following each other, at his disposal, to meet and repulse the enemy.

The body of Norman and English nobles who made up the reserve marched right in the middle. They were guarding the royal standard, which flew from a tall mast mounted on a waggon. This standard served as the rallying point for the whole army and the reserve was the hard core round which the other units were to reform in order to attack again. In the rear and advance guards and on the knights' flank there were also crossbowmen. They were to keep the Turkish cavalry at a distance, and prevent them from killing the knights' horses.


Turkish tactics differed essentially from knightly fighting technique. The Christians wore heavy armor, protecting them from top to toe, which had earned them the nickname of 'iron men' among the Moslems, who were more lightly equipped with bows and arrows, clubs, spears, and light armor. They had very fast horses, 'as swift as swallow', which made it possible for them to escape the crusader knights when they were attacked, and practically impossible for the heavy cavalry to catch them up at all.

But as soon as the Turks realized that they were no longer being pursued, they turned round quickly to attack the scattered Christian knights in their turn. 'They set about them like flies: as soon as they were chased off, they fled, as soon as the knights turned, they followed'. So the Turkish horsemen had to be surprised in a lightning attack by the western knights before they could escape the weighty charge.

[Longmane]

pt/3

Because of all these safety measures and since there was very little transport to be had and part of the foot-soldiers were carrying stores and tents, the army moved on very slowly. This is apparent from the distances covered.

Thursday 23 August: from Acre to the river Belus, 2 miles
Friday 23 August: crossed the river Belus, 2 miles
Saturday 24: rest and preparation for continuing the march
Sunday 25: march to Haifa, 11 miles
Monday 26: rest at Haifa
Tuesday 27: march from Haifa to Athlit, with a diversion round Mount Carmel, 12 miles
Wednesday 28: rest in camp
Thursday 29: rest in camp while the fleet unloaded stores and
Friday 30: march from Athlit to Merla, 13 miles
Saturday 31: march to Caesarea, 3 miles. The fleet brought more stores and reinforcements
Sunday 1 September: from Caesarea to the Dead River, Nahr-al-Khudeira, 3 miles
Monday 2: rest in camp
Tuesday 3, from the Dead River to the Salt River, Nahr Iskanderuna, 7 miles
Wednesday 4: rest in camp
Thursday 5: from the Salt River through the Forest of Arsuf to the River Rochetaille, Nahr-al-Falik,
10 miles
Friday 6: rest in camp
Saturday 7, from the River Rochetaille to Arsuf, and the battle of Arsuf, 6 miles
Sunday 8: rest in camp at Arsuf
Monday 9: from Arsuf to Nahr-el-Aujeh, 6 miles
Tuesday 10: over 5 miles to Jaffa, where the fleet unloaded stores

At this slow pace it took 19 days to travel about 81 miles from Acre to Jaffa. They marched in the morning only, and were perpetually harassed by attacks by the Turks, who were trying to separate the elements of the column from each other, in order to be able to finish them off in one great battle. Even on the first day the Turks came out from the hills in little bands of twenty or thirty to harass the crusaders, but without effect.

On 25 August they succeeded in causing some loss among the waggoners of the baggage train as the army was going through a pass. But after this the crusaders marched in better order than before. At Haifa the footsoldiers threw away their surplus equipment, as they were too heavily loaded with food and weapons. Some men died of heat and thirst during the march. On 30 August and 1 September the army was again troubled all day by minor attacks. On 3 September the count of St Pol and his knights lost many horses, and so did the Templars who formed the rearguard.

Between the 26 and 29 August the crusaders were left in peace, since they were going round Mount Carmel and Saladin was forced to follow them by a detour which lay further inland. But from 30 August to 7 September the enemy was so close to the Christians that they expected a general attack at any moment.

Beha ed-Din, Saladin's biographer, has given an interesting description of this march by Richard's army.

'The enemy moved in battle order, the foot-soldiers in front of the cavalry, and packed together solidly like a wall. Each foot-soldier wore armor made of very heavy felt, and so stout a coat of mail that our arrows did no harm. But they shot at us with their great crossbows and wounded both horses and riders. I saw foot-soldiers with as many as ten arrows in their backs, who marched on just as usual without breaking rank'.

'The foot-soldiers were divided into two groups, one half protected the riders, while the other half was not supposed to fight and took it easy while they were marching along the coast. If one section became exhausted, or had many wounded, they were relieved by the other, and rested in their turn.  The knights marched between two bodies of footsoldiers, and only emerged to charge. The cavalry were divided into three main corps. In the middle of the army there was a waggon with a turret built on it, as high as one of our minarets, from which they flew the royal standard. The Franks marched in this order, always fighting steadily'.

'The Moslems shot arrows at them from all directions to harass the riders and make them leave the protecting wall formed by the foot-soldiers. But it was all in vain: they remained unmoved, and went on marching without undue haste, while their fleet sailed along the coast till they reached the camping place'.

'They never made very long marches, because they did not want to overburden the foot-soldiers, half of whom were carrying baggage and tents because there were not enough transport animals. One could not help admiring the patience of these people: they bore the most extreme hardships although they had no good military organization of their own, and derived no personal advantage.'

[Longmane]

pt/4


Saladin had not been able to carry out his plans during the first stage of the march. However he found ideal terrain near Arsuf, between the river Rochetaille and the deserted town. The forest of Arsuf made it possible for the Turks to concentrate unobserved, close to their enemy, and to force them to fight in a broad open plain which was excellently suited to the swift evolutions of their own light cavalry.

In some places the forest was less than two miles from the sea, and Richard had to march between the forest and the sea for two days. Nothing happened on 5 September, the crusaders rested on the 6th and went on on the 7th.

This time the king was certain that the enemy would attack, and spoke to the troops about the serious danger threatening them. He himself indicated who was to be entrusted with the advance and rearguards. He formed 12 divisions, each divided into companies. The Templars were in the advance guard, the Hospitallers in the rear-guard. Bretons and Angevins followed in the second division. Men from Poitou and the troops of Guy of Lusignan made up the third formation. Normans and English with the standard formed the fourth division. The Hospitallers brought up the rear, reinforced with the barons' men.

'The ''conrois" led by these nobles "were placed side by side, so closely packed that you could not throw an apple without hitting either a horse or a man".' There were at least eleven of these nobles with their followers, including the earl of Leicester, James of Avesnes, count Robert of Dreux, the bishop of Beauvais, and other French barons. These nobles kept close together, ready to support each other. 'The battle order was so sound that it could not be broken without great difficulty'.

Count Henry of Champagne covered the left flank on the side of the forest of Arsuf. King Richard and the duke of Burgundy rode up and down the columns all the time to keep an eye on the order of the march.

[Longmane]

pt/5


The Battle

As soon as the crusaders had left their camp and the column was on the march, Saladin launched a full-scale attack. Hordes of the enemy rushed suddenly out of the forest towards the plain. In front were light cavalry meant as skirmishers. They were followed by well-ordered formations to which the first troops withdrew after their initial attack. Sudanese archers, Bedouins and Turkish light horsebowmen rushed up on the left flank and the rear-guard of the crusaders. The whole plain was covered in a few minutes with combatants, and a cloud of dust rose in the air. Trumpeters, drummers and men with cymbals rode in front of the emirs, and the troops urged each other on with tremendous whoops.

The weight of the attack fell chiefly on the Christian crossbowmen of the rear-guard. They put up a stout defense and inflicted considerable losses on their attackers with their arrows. But the enemy attack was so determined that some of the foot-soldiers took to flight at once, throwing away their bows and arrows, and sought protection among the various columns. The bravest of them stuck to their positions and went on at a walking pace, still facing the enemy and shooting as they went.

Our eyewitness, the Norman jongleur Ambroise, freely admits that at this moment even the bravest would gladly have been anywhere else but on the crusade. The army was so hard pressed that many knights lost their horses and went on fighting on foot as crossbowmen. The Hospitallers also got into difficulties and asked the King's permission to attack. But Richard refused and ordered them to stay as they were and go on marching. They went on slowly towards Arsuf.

After the failure of his skirmishers, who lost many horses to the well-aimed arrows of the crossbowmen, Saladin decided to throw other units into the attack who had to push on to the enemy. Instead of crossbowmen he sent in cavalry, many armed with clubs. There was another heavyattack on the rearguard. The Hospitallers were in despair, because their horses were being wounded while they had to face the enemy attacks without replying. The Grand Master, Garnier of Napes, rode to the king himself to ask permission to attack. The king considered that it was still not time to attack and asked the knights to continue to stay on the defensive for a bit longer.

He soon decided to give the signal for a general attack because the head of the column, the foot-soldiers of the advance guard, had almost reached the outskirts of Arsuf. He gave the necessary orders for everyone to charge simultaneously. Six trumpeters were sent to their posts: two in front of the army, two behind and two in the middle. The king of England waited for the moment at which the greatest part of Saladin's army was engaged to strike with his heavy cavalry. Up till then only the rearguard and part of the flanking column had been subjected to the enemy's attacks.

The Hospitallers were grumbling among themselves and grew very impatient. 'They had never lived through anything so shameful, never had they been forced to remain passive like that during attacks of the unbelievers'.  Enemy pressure grew too strong and the tensions among the attacked crusaders too great.  Suddenly the marshal of the Hospitallers and Baldwin Caron could bear it no longer, and charged. They felled two of the enemy at once. All the Hospitallers turned and made their attack in tightly packed formation. The barons followed with their men on hearing the war cry 'St George'.

The count of Champagne and James of Avesnes with their men, count Robert of Dreux, the bishop of Beauvais and the earl of Leicester, who attacked along the coast, in fact the entire rear-guard let fly at the enemy and was followed by the Angevins, the Bretons, the men of Poitou and the other companies.

Despite the fact that the attack started prematurely, it was carried out in a perfectly orderly fashion and came as a complete surprise to the enemy. Beha ed-Din, who was present at the battle, admits this freely. He says that the Moslems pressed the Christians on every side and thought they would be able to finish them off quite easily. But when the crusaders' foot-soldiers reached the outskirts of Arsuf, the cavalry suddenly formed up in a solid mass and since they thought that only a tremendous effort could save the Christians they decided to charge.

'I myself saw all the knights collected within a great wall formed by the foot-soldiers. They gripped their lances, shouting their battle cries, and the line of foot-soldiers opened up to let them through. Then they attacked our troops in all directions. One of their formations hurled itself at our right wing, another at the left wing, and a third at the center.'

[Longmane]

last part


The crusaders certainly put everything they had into the attack. Most of the enemy who had been rash enough to dismount in order to shoot straighter, were ridden down. Their cavalry were also utterly surprised and thrown into confusion so that it could only escape with fearful losses. The crusaders' foot-soldiers who followed the knights quickly finished off the unhorsed cavalry. King Richard, in his turn, charged straight to the right. The crusaders saw their enemy fleeing all over the plain for two miles. Some Moslems even jumped into the sea to escape their pursuers. During this attack by the rearguard and the flank-guard the Normans were following the charging knights at a distance with the standard, in order to rally them if they were thrown back after an unsuccessful attack.

The charge was not carried on too far, for an attack like that demanded tremendous effort from the knights and their horses. As soon as the knights stopped to regroup, the fleeing Moslems returned to the attack. The enemy rushed back to rescue their friends before the Christians could kill them. But they did not press this counterattack very far, for as soon as the knights had got their breath back and the companies had been regrouped, they organized another attack and scattered the enemy again.

But apparently the enemy had now thrown in all his troops. The knights got no further than a bowshot, and then had to withdraw again to the reserve to re-group their formations. Then William des Barres and king Richard, with his bodyguard, attacked too. This charge threw the Turks back and allowed the Christian troops to collect and reform.

A fourth charge was unnecessary. The enemy was so demoralized that another counter-attack was impossible, as Beha's description shows. At the beginning of the battle he was in the center of Saladin's army. He relates his adventures thus:

'Every formation was put to flight. When the centre was scattered, I wanted to take refuge with the left wing, which was nearest to me. But they were fleeing there even faster than in the centre so I went to the right wing. There I found the situation worse than on the left wing and went to join the sultan's own formation, since this was to be the general rallying point. But I found only seventeen men there, though the banners were still flying and the drums were still beating'.

'When the sultan saw what a terrible blow his army had suffered, he came to his own squadron and found only this tiny handful of men. He stopped there and when he saw that the whole place was overrun with fleeing soldiers, he ordered the drummers to go on drumming without stopping, and made all the fleeing soldiers come up to where he was'.

Saladin managed to get his men more or less re-grouped, but they were thoroughly demoralized. The Moslems were beaten.

Richard ordered no pursuit, in which they might have fallen into an ambush, or might have had to leave their foot-soldiers. Among the dead was the famous baron, James of Avesnes. This knight from Hainault, who was also a vassal of the count of Flanders, and whose family had provided brave sons for each crusade, seems to have gone through too far into the enemy lines. His horse fell, but the baron fought stoutly on foot. Round his body, Ambroise tells us, were found those of three other members of his family and fifteen of the enemy. In the ranks of the crusaders' army it was freely said that the count of Dreux with his followers had not rushed quickly enough to his help. James was compared to such heroes as Alexander, Hector and Achilles.

Richard's victory was complete, although the premature attack of the Hospitallers and Baldwin Caron was generally regretted. Saladin realized that further fighting would be of no advantage to him. His troops were completely demoralized. He decided against offering any further resistance in the numerous fortresses and gave orders that all towns and castles were to be demolished except Jerusalem and two important castles, Darum and Krak des Chevaliers. When Richard later attacked Darum the garrison surrendered the fortress after only four days' siege by the king's own followers who were certainly not very numerous.

Jerusalem was not conquered. The city was not besieged on the advice of the military Orders and the knights of the former kingdom of the Holy Land. They were convinced that the operation would be very costly, since supplies would have to be brought from the coast and might be intercepted on the way. They knew also that it would be very difficult to hold the city after the withdrawal of the crusaders who would be returning to the west. The unhappy crusaders who had borne so many privations and were ready to bear still more in order to reach their objective, were not convinced by these arguments and were bitterly disillusioned.

[egamma]

Ah, I wish our battle generator would spit out descriptions like this...